Daily updates about Syria

6/13/2015

I’m on my summer work/classes schedule for the next few months, so although I’ll try to post most days, it will be more erratic when I can and can’t. Most Fridays I won’t be able to since that’s typically my busiest day.

I also edited the “About” section to explain how the blog is organized and to more clearly explain why I do the blog in the first place.

Jabhat al-Nusra issued an apology for Wednesday’s killing of between 20 and 30 Druze in the village of Qalb Loze in Idlib:

The killings resulted from a chain of events after a local JaN commader confiscated the house of a Druze family that had fled the area.

JaN said the members had acted without orders and will be tried in a Sharia court. It also said that delegations have been sent to the area to investigate the incident and reassure the local community.

The apology did not include the number of people killed.

The village is now under JaN protection.

JaN views the Druze as apostates due to the branch of Islam that they follow. The killings come as rebels, including JaN, push towards Duze dominated areas.

The offensive began on Thursday, shortly after the capture of the nearby Brigade 52 base. Rebels captured surrounding towns/villages, and briefly captured western parts of the airbase, but were forced to retreat from the base when government reinforcements, including Druze militia fighters, arrived.